Submission Guidelines

General Information

How do I contact a Tom Doherty Associates, LLC author? Can I get my book signed?

We regularly forward mail to authors. Address mail to Author Name, c/o Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Please be aware that due to the volume of mail received, it may take time for your letter or package to be forwarded. Only regular mail will be forwarded.

Authors’ addresses, phone numbers, and personal email addresses are held in confidence; while we will forward regular mail, we cannot give out contact information. Some authors have public websites or email addresses; you can find many of these in the Resources section of this website or on the individual Author pages

We cannot guarantee that an author will sign your book, but we will forward packages. If you send a book to be signed, please enclose a return mailer. Tom Doherty Associates, LLC and the authors are not responsible for damage incurred during shipping; books and other material to be autographed are sent at your own risk.

If you have purchased a damaged book, you should return or exchange it at the place of purchase.

If that fails, we will replace the book if it has a manufacturing defect. Manufacturing defects are: missing or repeated pages, pages from another book bound in, incorrect binding that cuts off part of the text.

We will not replace copies which have become worn or damaged through regular use or due to fire, flood, or accident. To obtain a replacement book, send the damaged book and your name and address to: Damaged Book, Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010

We are happy to provide one desk copy free for every twenty copies of a book ordered for a course or class. Please complete this Desk Copy form (22Kb PDF) and fax the form to 646 307 5088. Allow 3-4 weeks for delivery. Offer not valid outside of the United States.

Internship Program

Where do I find information about internship opportunities at Tor?

Macmillan offers paid internship opportunities year round in both the College and Trade divisions. Internships are available in areas such as: Editorial, Marketing, Publicity, Art & Design, Production, Subsidiary Rights, Children’s Books, and Business Development.

Interns are provided the opportunity to participate in work related assignments, gain practical work experience, and network with employees from various departments. Overall, interns become familiar with the basic structure of a publishing house and the role of each department within.

The Macmillan publishing program is available for students currently enrolled in a college or university, who aspire to pursue a career in the publishing industry.

We typically recruit for our fall interns starting in June, spring interns in November, and summer interns in February. Follow us on twitter @MacmillanJobsUS and check out our careers website to keep up to date with intern recruitment.

Editorial interns and Editorial interns (Young Adult) gain insight into the process of publishing a book at every stage, from contract request to catalog to finished book. Both types of internships provide interaction with other departments including Production, Marketing, Ad Promo and Publicity. Students learn about acquisitions and the editorial process, rights and territories, contracts, sales, and scheduling. They have the opportunity to work with a wide variety of genre fiction, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, and romance. Young Adult interns work with many of the same genres; Young Adult books are targeted to readers ages 10 and up. Editorial interns may be asked to work with a particular editor or on a specific project during their time at Tor.

Marketing interns will be involved in mailing galleys and promotional items, assisting with preparation for major meetings, and attending marketing and sales meetings as appropriate. Interns will be exposed to various stages of the marketing process and the opportunity to learn. A certain amount of filing is required.

Publicity interns will be involved in researching and updating our media contact database, assisting in press kit compilation, and media mailings of both advance releases and review copies. Interns are also required to do a certain amount of filing and office organizational work. Once we feel the intern is ready, they will be given the chance to write press releases and press materials, and pitch the media. They may also be given the opporunity to assist with author events, tours, and other creative projects including online publicity campaigns.

Submission Guidelines

How do I submit writing to Tom Doherty Associates, LLC?

We have an open submissions policy and consider tens of thousands of projects a year. Every proposal that reaches us is reviewed by at least one member of the editorial staff. We apologize in advance for replying primarily with form letters; unfortunately, there’s no other way to handle responses in a timely manner.

We do not respond to queries; please do not send them.

Please read this entire section before submitting; following our guidelines will ensure you a fair hearing by our editorial staff.

Please note that these guidelines are intended for writers who do not have agents.

Your submissions packet should include:

1. The first three chapters of your book, prepared in standard manuscript format on white paper. (If your chapters are really short or really long, or you don’t use chapter breaks, you may send the first 40-60 pages of your book, provided you stay under 10,000 words.) The submitted text must be made up of consecutive pages and should end at the end of a paragraph, not in mid-sentence.

Standard manuscript format means margins of at least 1 inch all the way around; indented paragraphs; double-spaced text; and Times New Roman in 12 pitch. Please use one side of the page only. Do not justify the text. Do not bind the manuscript in any way. Make sure the header of the ms. includes your name and/or the title of the book as well as the page number (on every page).

2. A synopsis of the entire book. The synopsis should include all important plot elements, especially the end of the story, as well as character development for your main characters. The synopsis should run between three and ten pages in standard manuscript format. The first page of the synopsis and the first page of the text should also include your name and contact information and the title of the manuscript.

3. A dated cover letter that includes your name and contact information and the title of the submitted work. Briefly tell us what genre or subgenre the submission falls into and mention any qualifications you have that pertain to the work. Please list any previous publications in paying markets.

4. A self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelope for our reply letter. We understand that writers living outside the United States may not be able to supply International Reply Coupons. You may submit regardless; please send a self-addressed, business-size envelope for our reply. We recycle all proposals in accordance with corporate sustainability directives and local laws. If you do not include an SASE, you will not receive a reply.

Please send only one proposal in each submissions packet. If you have written a series, send a proposal for the first book only. If we like what we see, we’ll ask for the rest.

Many people include postcards to be returned when the proposal reaches us. Unfortunately, we don’t open submissions until we’re ready to read them, so it’s probably best to save your money.

* Fiction of all other types including but not limited to general fiction, historical fiction, horror, mystery, paranormal, suspense/thriller, urban fantasy, and women’s fiction: Acquisitions Editor, Fiction

* Children’s and Young Adult: Acquisitions Editor, Children’s and Young Adult Division Note: We publish books for the chapter book, middle grade, and young adult audiences. We do not publish picture books.

If you do not receive a reply after six months, please resubmit. It’s likely that your project or our response disappeared in transit.

Thank you for your interest.

Don’t stop reading! Here are some tips to help the whole process work smoothly:

1. Don’t send a query letter. It’s practically impossible to judge a project from a query. We’d rather see your proposal.

2. Don’t send submissions or inquiries by email or fax. We do not respond to emailed or faxed submissions, queries, or inquiries about the status of submissions.

3. Don’t send disks. We want to read words in black type on white paper. And it’s not that we don’t trust you, but your system might have viruses you don’t know about.

4. Don’t send us the only copy of anything. Things get lost in transit.

5. Don’t send interior or cover art or an author photo. There’s time for that later, if we like your project.

6. Don’t send jewelry, food, toys, 3-dimensional representations of anything, or anything that might be construed as a bribe. Over the years, we’ve seen all of the following and more: handmade bracelets and earrings, anatomical models, home-baked cookies, fine fabrics, fancy bookmarks, cocoanuts, fancy manuscript boxes . . ..None of this has any impact on our consideration of your work. The work has to sink or swim on its own merits.